Faculty

Who teaches at Conway?

We engage as teachers those whose integrity allows them to speak from their hearts and out of their lives, rather than simply from a textbook or solely on a theoretical basis. We value—and debate—theory, but value it most as it has relevance in practice.

Faculty positions have various functions. Core faculty are the glue or continuity of the program. At least one of the core teachers is with the students every day and for some sessions, such as Wednesday morning presentations, there are two or three faculty members present.

Adjunct faculty add to the experience base of the core faculty by offering a depth of experience in a particular area, such as ecology, regenerative design, or graphics. In addition to teaching parts of the core curriculum, some adjuncts work with students in the studio, while others interact more frequently with students in the field.

Weekly visitors are also key contributors to the education at Conway. They conduct workshops, give talks, advise on projects, and interact in other ways. They typically have very targeted knowledge (such as how septic systems work or how forests may change over time) or a depth of design experience (such as in permaculture or conservation planning.)

Core Faculty

Paul Cawood Hellmund
Director
email Paul

MLA, Harvard Graduate School of Design(1983)
BS, Landscape Horticulture, Colorado State University (1977)
Over 20 years’ professional experience as a landscape architect and planner
Assistant Professor, Landscape Architecture, Colorado State University (2003-2005)
Assistant Professor, Landscape Architecture, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (1983-1986)
Principal of Hellmund Associates, LLC

Paul Cawood Hellmund joins CSLD as Director and core faculty member. Paul is a Panama-born Colorado educator and practitioner, a full member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and a member of the United States International Association of Landscape Ecology.

The focus of Paul Cawood Hellmund’s design research, practice, and teaching is improving the relationship between people and nature, especially in urban, suburban, and degraded landscapes.

He co-edited the 1993 book, Ecology of Greenways, which was recognized by the American Society of Landscape Architects with a national award. He also was principal author of Colorado State Parks’ widely circulated “Planning Trails with Wildlife in Mind.”

He sees finding a balance between nature and people as a key factor in creating sustainable communities and collaborative design as essential to progress in sustainability.

At Colorado State University, Paul taught undergraduate students of landscape architecture in courses in sustainable design, landscape ecology, environmental analysis, and landscape planning and organizes interdisciplinary projects looking at various aspects of protected areas planning in the U.S. and abroad.

Ken Byrne
Assistant Professor of Humanities
email Ken

Ed.D., University of Massachusetts (2003)
M.Ed., University of Massachusetts (1996)
B.A. (honors), English, Brown University (1986)

Ken Byrne Ken joined the faculty in 2003 as instructor of the Design Language course. An educator for eighteen years, Ken arrived with a wide range of experience, from teaching secondary school in Macau, to educational design consulting for an environmental NGO in the Philippines, to teaching college writing and creative non-fiction at the University of Massachusetts. He has also been active in projects linking environmental and social health to community development efforts, both in the Connecticut River Valley region and abroad.

Interdisciplinary by inclination, Ken’s academic work draws on geography, philosophy, economics, anthropology, education, psychology, and literary theory to examine the relationship between the human subject and its environment. He is interested in alternative concepts of economy and community, and believes that one of the functions of education should be to unsettle fixed or conventional notions of the individual, nature, society, and development.

Attracted to the CSLD’s ecological mission, its rigorous yet humane applied learning approach, its progressive educational methods and philosophy, and its cross-disciplinary integrated curriculum, Ken enjoys working in an environment in which students feel both properly supported and challenged to explore and grow on their own terms.